"I'm just a ...... of the house"

Koji tried to justify himself.

The officials up and down the Honglu Temple stared at Kou Ji and smiled without saying a word.

Kou Ji saw that his defense was useless, so he stopped arguing, "Since you have to take me as the leader, then I'm not welcome." ”

"It's all up to the Kouyuan Academy."

The officials up and down the Honglu Temple all saluted Kou Ji.

Kou Ji nodded and said, "The place where the covenant is signed, can you get ready?" ”

The Shaoqing of Honglu Temple said with a smile: "The Duting Station has been vacated, and all the things needed to sign the covenant are ready. Just wait for the date to be set, gather the envoys of all the subordinates, and sign the covenant together. ”

Kou Ji thought for a moment and said, "Tonight's Chinese New Year's Eve, everyone has to go home to accompany their families, and all the envoys must also go out to see the excitement." I won't sweep your Yaxing.

Let the date of the signing of the covenant be set until tomorrow. ”

"......"

Finalizing the date for signing the covenant and handing over some trivial matters to his subordinates, Kou Ji left Honglu Temple.

When I returned to the courtyard outside the city, I saw Xiang Yan instructing the servants to carry a huge lotus lantern into the carriage.

The fifteenth night of the first lunar month.

The imperial court will put medicine in Jinmingchi to make puppets, and the magnates will get together to compete for lanterns, which is very lively.

As a member of the elite, Kou Fu naturally cannot be absent.

The huge lotus lantern is used to compete with the lanterns.

Xiang Yan has been handling this matter, so Kou Ji didn't pay too much attention to it.

Kou Ji stood not far from the gate of the mansion, waiting until the servants loaded the lanterns on the car and pulled them away, and then slowly walked into the mansion.

Xiang Yan saw Kou Ji and happily accompanied Kou Ji into the house.

to the backyard.

Xiang Yan took out a few very gorgeous clothes and asked Kou Ji to try them on.

Kou Ji tried on clothes under Xiang Yan's fiddling, and asked suspiciously, "Are you going to meet a guest tonight?" ”

"Not ......"

Xiang Yan was busy and said: "Xiang Gong has not had a Lantern Festival since he entered Beijing. Bianjing City has not held a Lantern Festival for several years, so this year's Lantern Festival must be very lively.

At that time, everyone will be dressed up very luxuriously, and if the husband is too shabby, he will be embarrassed. ”

Kou Ji laughed and said, "When did you become as vulgar as everyone else?" ”

Xiang Yan smiled bitterly and said, "It's not that the concubine is vulgar, but everyone in Bianjing City will wear it like this." You don't care about these foreign objects, but others do.

Since I'm rich, I should dress more gorgeously.

Otherwise, some people will always chew their tongues behind their backs, saying that the people of my Kou Mansion are pretending to be high. ”

Kou Ji shook his head and smiled, "Then let it be." ”

It's just a matter of changing one or two clothes, it's not cumbersome, and Kou Ji doesn't have the heart to care.

After having chosen clothes.

Xiang Yan took people to prepare, and Kou Ji returned to the study alone.

It was late in the evening.

Xiang Yan rushed to the study and invited Kou Ji out.

The husband and wife took Kou Tianci, dressed in luxurious clothes, got into a gorgeous carriage, and swayed into Bianjing City.

There was a box in the carriage, which was heavy.

Kou Ji weighed it and asked, "What's inside?" ”

"Copper coins!"

Xiang Yan said very naturally.

Kou Ji wondered, "What are you doing with copper coins?" ”

Xiang Yan stared at Kou Ji and said, "Of course, it's to give rewards to the people." ”

Xiang Yan saw that Kou Ji still looked puzzled, so she explained in detail: "Every Lantern Festival, the official family will invite the ministers to the imperial city to have fun with the people.

During this period, some money will be sprinkled to pick up for the people. ”

Kou Jiba clicked his mouth and sighed: "This wind can't last long." ”

Xiang Yan smiled bitterly, "Is Xianggong going to play the Ming official family and cancel this matter?" ”

As soon as Kou Ji wanted to speak, he heard Xiang Yan say: "The concubine persuades the princess not to do this, otherwise those noble ladies in Bianjing City will hate you to death." This is one of the few opportunities they have to show off. If they are deprived, they will surely hold a grudge. ”

Kou Ji was slightly stunned, shook his head and smiled, and did not mention the matter again.

Xiang Yan tilted his head to the side and said with a smile: "Xianggong is becoming more and more like a grandfather now." ”

Kou Ji was stunned for a moment and looked at Xiang Yan suspiciously.

Xiang Yan smiled: "Xianggong is now very similar to when my grandfather was appointed as the governor. ”

Kou Ji subconsciously asked, "How can you see it?" ”

Xiang Yan said with a bright smile: "I always think about national affairs in my heart." ”

Kou Ji was slightly stunned and sighed, "Really? ”

Xiang Yan nodded solemnly.

Kou Ji stared at Xiang Yan and smiled, "Time can really change a lot of things. It can also make a lot of people change. The official family is changing, you are changing, and I am changing. ”

Unconsciously, under his influence, the Great Song Dynasty has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Unconsciously, under his influence, Zhao Zhen changed from a benevolent monarch to a domineering king.

And he himself, under all the influence of the Great Song Dynasty, changed from a fake prisoner to an important minister of the court who worried about the country and the people.

When this matter is said, others must think it is absurd and bizarre.

But it's Koji's own experience.

Xiang Yan couldn't understand the deep meaning of Kou Ji's words.

But he nodded approvingly.

The carriage went all the way along the official road, entered the sour date gate, crossed the Wuzhang River Bridge, and arrived near the palace, and went straight along the avenue to the Donghua Gate.

In front of Donghua Gate.

The Manchu Dynasty civil and military, with their families, in a carriage, gathered together.

They were all gorgeously dressed and extravagant.

Xiang Yan was right.

The ladies had a rare opportunity to show off, and they were eager to wear all the gorgeous clothes on their bodies.

There is no such thing as the most gorgeous, only more gorgeous.

After some noble ladies arrived outside the Donghua Gate, they saw that the clothes passed on by others were better than their own, so they immediately sent the maids back to get a more gorgeous dress.

The clothes worn by the three members of Kou Ji's family are very ordinary compared to them.

After the Manchu Dynasty civil and military arrived.

The door of Donghua Gate is open.

The Manchu Dynasty's civil and military carriers and their own family members entered the palace together.

The people did not go straight to the palace, but went up to the city.

After going to the city, I saw that Zhao Zhen and Queen Cao had prepared a banquet like a long dragon.

Zhao Zhen and Empress Cao sat in the center with a smile, waiting for the Manchu Dynasty civil and military and their families to give salutes.

After the Manchu Dynasty civil and military took their families to give gifts, they sat down separately.

Kou Ji dipped a little of his son's light and sat down not far from Zhao Zhen.

After sitting down, Xiang Yan tugged at the corner of Kou Ji's clothes and pointed to the city gate building behind him.

Kou Ji took a look and saw a very exaggerated scene.

Chen Lin took hundreds of eunuchs and guarded hundreds of large boxes, which were filled with copper coins.

There is no doubt that these coins were given to the people.

"Extravagant ......"

Kou Ji commented in a low voice, and Mrs. Wang Zeng, who was sitting at the table next to Kou Ji, covered her mouth and laughed, but did not speak.

Wang Zeng stroked his beard, glanced at Kou Ji, and said lightly: "The official family is already very frugal, and the reward is only copper coins." During the reign of the first emperor, the reward was gold and silver leaves. ”

Kou Ji was a little speechless.

Co-authored on the loser, the official family is still one percent of the first emperor.

Night is slowly falling.

Bianjing City was not shrouded in darkness.

Instead, they fell into a sea of lights.

The lights of thousands of homes are lit together.

The scene was spectacular.

The long dragons are criss-crossed, and the lanterns are blooming.

Under the illumination of thousands of lights, the Bianjing City that appears from time to time is like a mirage, which is very charming.

The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty stared at Bianjing City with different expressions.

Some people are used to it.

Others are obsessively staring at everything.

"The Hour Has Come......"

I don't know who said it.

Zhao Zhen nodded to Chen Lin beside him.

Chen Lin handed the special bow and arrow to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen took a bow and arrow, pointed at the sky, and shot an arrow.

After the arrow was fired, a pleasant whistle sounded.

Subsequently, eighty soldiers of the forbidden army bent their bows and arrows, followed by eighty arrows.

The sound traveled far and wide.

After hearing the sound of arrows, the Great Song Forbidden Army guarded by Jin Mingchi lit the medicine puppet prepared in advance.

Bang bang bang......

An explosion rang out.

Fireworks burst into the air, outlining one illusory figure after another.

Brilliant figures, appearing out of thin air and disappearing out of thin air,

caused the people to scream again and again.

Next to Jinming Pond, it became a sea of sound in an instant.

Explosions and shouts came one after another.

Lantern Festival event, if the imperial court is a puppet with medicine, Jinmingchi will always be the most lively place.

In Jinmingchi, there are not only fireworks to watch, but also all kinds of juggling, all kinds of lanterns to watch, and countless snacks are being sold.

It's a pity that Kou Ji, Zhao Zhen and others didn't have a chance to take a look.

It was a place for the people to play, not a place for them to play.

If they go, the people will not have a good time.

When the shouts of the people came.

The Manchu Dynasty both smiled with satisfaction.

The people are happy enough and laugh loud enough, which means that under their governance, the Great Song Dynasty is peaceful and prosperous, and everything is peaceful.

This is their credit, and they are naturally happy.

"Let's have a feast......"

Zhao Zhen announced with a smile, and the banquet officially began.

The ladies became alive in an instant.

It is rare to have a chance to be presumptuous and public, and they naturally do not have to abide by etiquette and sit in a restrained manner.

Empress Cao took the lead, and a group of noble ladies quickly got together, talked happily, and played games.

Of course, they didn't all get together.

They have different statuses, so they have formed several circles.

The ladies left, and the Manchu civil and military naturally got together and began to talk.

There are those who write poems, those who make wine orders, and those who talk about business.

Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji, Wang Zeng, and Lu Yijian got together and talked about business.

When the other ministers of civil and military affairs saw the four of them together, they left them with interest.

As soon as the four of them got together, Zhao Zhen said in a quiet tone: "There is movement on the Liao side." ”

Kou Ji, Wang Zeng, and Lu Yijian glanced at each other.

Lu Yijian said in a deep voice: "The Liao people have long planned to use troops against my Great Song Dynasty? ”

It was only a long time for the Liao envoys to leave Bianjing, only fifteen days.

Fifteen days was not enough for them to deliver the news to Shangjing in Liao.

Therefore, if the Liao people have moved, it shows that the Liao people have long planned to use troops against the Great Song Dynasty.

Wang Zeng's face was a little unpleasant and said: "Fortunately, we have made preparations in advance, otherwise the Liao people will suddenly go south, and we will definitely be in a hurry to deal with it." ”

Zhao Zhen asked: "Why did the Liao people use troops against my Great Song Dynasty for no reason?" ”

Kou Ji opened his mouth and said: "Eighty percent is related to the war in Hexi. My Great Song Dynasty is the most threatening and powerful enemy of Liao.

My Great Song Dynasty took Hexi, showing the military edge and enterprising spirit of my Great Song Dynasty.

He also defeated the Huangtou Hui and the Western Xia heavy army.

also let Qingtang bow down to us.

The Liao State felt threatened, so naturally it couldn't watch me sit on the throne.

Moreover, my Great Song Dynasty has become stronger, and it has been shaken to the hegemony of the Liao State.

In order to consolidate the hegemony, the Liao State will inevitably raise troops against the Song Dynasty. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded slowly, "In this way, even if we don't take the initiative to provoke a war between Song and Liao, Liao will also provoke a war between the two countries?" ”

Kou Ji nodded solemnly.

Zhao Zhen groaned: "The war between the two countries is inevitable, and my Great Song Dynasty will be able to occupy a lot of benefits if I take the lead in the first step." It seems that we have done nothing wrong in taking the initiative to start a war. ”

Kou Ji said seriously: "We are all right from the end. ”

Wang Zeng said on the side: "According to the practice of the Liao people in the past to invade the south, the soldiers and horses of the Liao State will appear on the border of our Great Song Dynasty in the spring season. We still have more than a month to prepare. ”

Lu Yijian said solemnly: "Cao Wei has already taken a step ahead and arrived at Zhending Mansion. Among the 300,000 soldiers and horses dispatched by the imperial court, there were already 150,000 soldiers and horses, and they successively arrived at Yanmen Pass, Feihukou, Baozhou and other places.